AWC Detroit to honor local journalists

The Association for Women in Communications Detroit Chapter has named sports journalist Joanne Gerstner the headliner of its 2017 Matrix Awards, the organization announced Monday.

A ceremony May 18 at Plum Hollow Country Club in Southfield will honor women in communications for personal and professional achievements.

Gerstner received the Headliner Award to recognize her award-winning career covering worldwide sporting events, AWC Detroit said in a press release. She co-authored a book about sports concussions last year, and now is a Michigan State University journalism faculty member. Gerstner wrote for The Detroit News from 1999-2009 after a career that included jobs at the Lansing State Journal, Cincinnati Enquirer and Flint Journal.

The list of honorees also includes longtime Detroit Free Press medical reporter Pat Anstett, who was given the Diamond Award for her in-depth reporting on mammography issues such as access for low-income women.

The event will also recognize the Vanguard Award's recipients, Bridge Magazine and its investigative reporter Chastity Pratt Dawsey, for their book on the Flint water crisis, Poison on Tap.

The organization named Jocelyn Benson, CEO of the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality, keynote speaker for the May event. Carol Cain, CBS 62 senior producer and Detroit Free Press columnist, will emcee.

AWC Detroit, founded in 1938, aims to encourage collaboration among communications professionals and advance women's roles in the field. It hosts events and educational programming.